Safety razor



Dec. ll, 1934. A FUNKER 1,984,338

SAFETY` RAZOR Original Filed Jan. l2, 1931 I5 lSheets-Sheet lV 43 III'.

INVENTOR. LEON A. FUN/(ER A TTORNEYG Dec. 11, 1934. L, A. FUNKER' f 1,984,338

SAFETY RAZOR Original Filed Jan. 1 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mmmm".

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n INVENTOR, E0/v A. FUN/ffl? Il /8 F/C7. /9 ATTORNEYJ in position for sharpening, the guard plate havy Patented Dec. 11, 1934 Ulvl'ril) STATES PATENT OFFICEYQ Leon A. Flinker, Detroit, Mich., assigner of onefourth to John A. Gesmar, Toledo, Ohio January l12, 11931, Serial No. 508,164 Renewed August 10, 1934 15 claims. (ci. sof-m);

razor back and moving of the support to its forward locked position. l

Fig. 6 is similar to Fig. 5 but shows the razor moved forward to shaving position.

Fig'. 7 is a view taken online 7-7 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 -is a plan 'View ofy the razor, shownin Fig. 1,A but with'the razor blade swung back` to open position, the dotted lines illustrating the Application This invention relates to safety razors, and more particularly to a self-sharpening razor.

An object of the invention resides `in the provision of a sharpening surface adapted to be flxedly positioned whenl kin operating rposition and means permitting the blade to be reciprocated over the sharpening surface yand to hold the blade at a fixed angle relative to said sharpening surface during the sharpening action.

`A further feature resides in means for slidably supporting the blade whereby it moves parallel with the surface ofthe sharpening device and means for universally supporting the blade the razor locked in 'shaving position with the whereby it may be turned over at will an guard plate raised and the sharpening device sharpened on either side. locked. s I

Other features of the invention reside inthe Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on line'11--11 novel structure for supporting and placing the of Fig. 10. blade in two distinct positions; namely, sharp- Fig.. 12 is a sectional view;of the reciprocable ening position and shaving position, together plunger as taken on line 12-,12 of Fig. 10. with means for lockingthe blade and its sup- Fig. 13 is a plan view of one `form of razor porting structure 'in either of said` twoposiand razor holder. tions. Fig. 14' is a view'taken on line y11i-14 of Fig.

Other features `of the invention reside in 13 showing the overlapping of the blade holder means for relatively'reciprocating.the guard to secure the blade in place', U n .f plate and sharpening device, the' guard plate r Fig. 15 is a viewtaken on .line 15-15 of Fig. being lowered by the same -action which re- 13 and showing the `positioning of the blade by leases the `razor from shaving position, the conthe blade holder. i f tinuing of this action raising the sharpening 1 Fig. 16 is an end view of the razor'bladeand device to the correct plane and locking the holder shown in Fig. 13.v f guard plate and sharpening device in sharpen- Fig. 17 is a view similar to Fig. 16 but showing position. y ing the razor Vblade and holder formed of a Still further features reside in resilient means single piece. .f l 1 1 for automatically moving the razor support to .fFig. 18 is a fragmentary detaily view of the sharpening position and resilient means for holdmeans for slidably supporting the razor. ing the razor support in backed-away position Fig. 19 is a view similar to Fig. 18 but showand similar resilient means for holding'the raing the support moved forward into shaving zoi in shaving position. 4 position.

Other features and advantages therefromwill Fig. 20 is a fragmentary sectional view taken be more clearly set forth in the specification on line 20-20 of Fig. 19. f and claims. v, The self-sharpeningrazor asembodiedin the In the drawings: drawings may be classed with that type of razor Fig. 1 is an enlarged side elevation of a razor whereinthe blade is sharpened or honed without constructed in accordance with the present inremoving it from the razor, as contrasted with vention 'and showing'the razor support and razor those razors in. which the blade is' adapted to be stropped; in other words, I have provided a razor which may be operated tol sharpen the edge of manner of turning the razor around.

Fig. 9` is a longitudinal sectional. view taken through the razor handle.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9 but showing ing been lowered andthe sharpening device raised. n the kblade by subjecting it to an abrasiveor Fig. 2 is a frontview of the structure shown grinding action both againstand with the surin Fig, 1 faces forming the edge of the blade.

- My razor, as embodied in the drawings. comprisesk a hollow. handle 1 which is preferably rectangular in cross-section.' The upperend-of structure pushed forward 'to approximately the this hollow handle .is adapted to receive a reend of the forward sharpening position. l ciprocable plunger 2 and a U-shaped outer sleeve Fig. 5f illustrates the step of 'swinging rthe 3. The back of the plunger 2 is preferably folded Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view ofthe handle. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view similar-toFig. l, Vbut showing the razor and its supporting over to form a double wall as at 4 and this double wall is apertured at 5 to receive the end 6 of a double action toggle member '7. The other end 8 of this toggle member protrudes through an opening 9 in the face of the sleeve 3, as best shown in Fig. 2. As the toggle member '7 is pivotally mounted in the handle by means of the shaft 10, it will be obvious that movement of the sleeve3` in one direction will be accompanied by a similar movement of the plunger member 2 in the opposite direction.

The upper end of the sleeve 3 terminates in a guard plate 11, which preferably has a smooth surface 12 for contacting evenly with` the under side of the blade, as shown in Figs;r 6 and 10, and suitable teeth 13 offset downwardly from the surface l2 to provide a recess foryreceiving soap and hair; such soap and hair thus collect-- ing in between and under the teethand awayfrom the razor blade. rIhe upper end of the plunger 2 isfabricated to provide a cage for receiving a sharpening device 14. The ends of the. cage are preferably provided with stops 15 for engaging: suitable members formed on the edge of rthe-razor` blade, as best shown in Fig. 4, for-limiting the forward movement of the sharpening stroke.. A spring member 16 of novel formation has'a U-shaped portion protruding within suitable apertures formed on each side of the hone or sharpening device 14 engages with one wall of the cage whereby to hold the same in position.

lThe hone. or sharpening device 14 preferably has. a fiat upper surface for uniform contact with the edge of the razor blade. This hone mayjhe formedoff various kinds of material and I have found that exceptionally good results maybe obtained by forming the same of nickel. This nickel or. any other material which would be relatively porous: presents a very fine sharpening surface as rouge or other abrasive material may be; rubbed on the porous surface and absorbed by the pores so as to present a very fine sharpening surface which need not be wiped or washed o each time the razor is used. In other words, where abrasive material, in addition to the material of the hone, is, used; it is retained by the poresk of the hone itself. The upper surface of the hone may be fabricated or cut so. as topresent finediagonal corrugations or ridges 17 which, if used, are preferably relatively ne on one side and relatively coarse on the other` side, the finerV ones producing a finer razor edge for certain types ofbeards. In addition to producing a fine edge very quickly they helpmaterially'in retaining the sharpening composition in place on the hone.

The lower end ofi-the sleeveV 3 is provided with an aperture 18 and spaced below this aperture is a hook member or catch 19. A long integral Spring 20 enters the back side of the handle l and: preferably extends to the bottom ofthe handle,v as` best shown in Fig. 1,r and then upwardly to a point adjacent the `lower end of the sleeve. 3. vThe front wall ofthe handle 1 is providedwith an` aperture 21 and the one end 'of the spring 2(1,is bent over as at 22V to form a lockingA member' which isI in: constantt registration with the aperture 2l.

AreleascfngerZ is pivotally mounted on the sleeveB, .as best shown in Fig. 11,.and the handle 1 is slotted as at 24 to permit up and down movement of. the finger 23 and the sleeve 3. A contact memben25 lis securedv to the spring 20 andt protrudes through the front walll of the handle 1 for contact with the member 23. It will be obvious that inward movement of this pivoted releasing finger 23 will contact with the member 25 and move the spring member, and the bent over portion 22 thereof, inwardly. The downward position of the sleeve member 3 is such that the aperture 18 registers with the aperture 21 of the handle whereby the member 22 is adapted to hold the sleeve 3 in locked downward position. Likewise, the upward position of the sleeve 3, see Fig. 10, results in registration between the member 19 and the aperture 21` with the result that a release of the nger 23. permits` the member 22 of the spring to engage with this catch 19 to lock the sleeve in shaving position, as shown in Fig. 10.

The razor, instead of being directly supported by the handle, is carried by a supporting unit which may be generally designated 30. This support preferably consists of an arm 31 extending at right' angles to the axis of the handle .and an angularly extending arm 32 terminating ina pivot 33, which pivot serves as a connecting means Vwith* a second arm 34 which directly receivesand supports the razor 35 and its holder 36.

The handle 1 is apertured as at 31a, see Fig. .9, to guide andA support the arm 31. This arm 31l is provided with an aperture 38 and the front wall of thev sleeve 3 is provided with an aperture 39, the latter aperture permitting reciprocatory movement of the lever 31 andthe aperture 38 permitting reciprocatory movement of the sleeve 3.V In other words, in the position shown in Fig. 10, which is the shavingy position, the arm 31 is moved forward to a position where the sleeve 3 ispassed upwardlythrough the aperture'38. It will be obvious that in this position the entire supportingunit 30V is locked in its forward position.

Now, if the sleeve member 3 is moved downwardly, .it will be' obviou'sthat the arm 31 will be released. The rear end of the arm 31 is aper- `tured to. receive the upper end of the spring 30 so that with'release of the lever 31 by downward movement of the sleeve 3 the spring 20 will automatically tend to move the entire supporting unit 30 to the position shown in Fig. 1.

The arm 34 is provided with an aperture 40 which isadapted to' cooperate `with the spring 1.6 when the entire supporting unit 30 is moved to shaving position, such as that shown in Fig. 10. The upturned end of the spring 16 thus serves as anl additional lock to keep the razor blade inV shaving position. While the locking of the arm 31, of course, positively locks the entire supportingunit 30, if it were not for the spring 16 the pivot 33 might permit .the blade to rise up when` contacting with `the face. The spring 16 @thus insures that the blade 35 will remain in contact with the guard plate during shaving operation. In order to disengage the spring 16 andV permit the razor blade supporting unit to be moved to sharpening position, the arm 34 must bel rst pivoted about the pivot 33, as shownin Fig. 5.

y Now, in'order to keep the arm 34 in this position I have provided a spring member 41 which is` adapted to engage an aperture 42 in the upstanding arm 32, as best shown in Fig. 5. It will thus' be obvious that either the spring 16 or the spring 41' is in operating engaged position as the arm 34 and the razor blade is always either in the position shown in Fig. 5 or that shown in Figs. 4 and 10. It will also be seen fromFigfS that the pivot 33 is provided with a suitable coil spring which' tends to hold the razor blade against either the hone or the guard plate. :y

The arrn34 is provided with a lateral extension 43 with the result that eitherthe forefinger or 4the thumb, depending upon the way the razor is held,fmay be conveniently rested against the extension 43 and the arm 34 to either move the razor blade and `its holder to the position shown in Fig. 5 or to return the same to the position shown in either Figs. 1 or 10.

The razor blade holder 36 may be of any convenientforxn such as that shown in Figs. 15 and 16 or may be solid as shown in Fig. 17. As best shown in Fig. 10, such holder` may be secured to the arm 34 by means of ya suitable screw 44.

The distance that the arm 31 is retracted when released is very important and in orderto insure such vcorrect distance, I have provided a downwardly extending portion 45 on the end of the arm 31, the operation of which can be readily seen in Figs. 9 and 10. The outward position of the arm 31, which is that shown in Figs. 1 and 8, permits the blade 35 and holder 36 to be swung around due to the swivel joint 44, such as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 8 In other Words, it is only necessary when the Vrazor is in honing position such as shown in Fig. 1, to retract the arm 34 until the spring 41 engages in the aperture 42, when the blade and holder can be freely moved around to present either side to be sharpened.

Fig. 1,8, 19 and 20 illustrate a modified form of guide for the arm 3l in that a sleeve 46 is positioned in the handle, the under side of the sleeve being cut away as at 47 to permit the arm 31 to be retracted a greater distance with the result that, if desired, the front end of the arm 31, when in shaving position, need not extend out so far as in the preferred construction, such as shown in Figs. 6 and '7.

The wings 37 on the holder 36 are of a predetermined width so that when the razor is in shaving position, such as shown in Fig. 6, the edge of one wing`37 may be rested against the face so as to insure the/correct angle in shaving. The casing for the sharpening device is preferably provided with rearwardlyextending portions 50'which are so spaced as to insure that the blade always strikes the sharpening surface when the arm 34 is snapped forward. Thus, if the blade should not happen to be turned' all the wayaround by the operator it would still not be possible to hit the edge of the blade against yany part of the razor. Y

The back portion of the cage yis cut away as at 51 and the flat surfaces 52 are'adapted to contact with the inner surface of the arm 34 when the razor blade is in shaving position whereby to help square the edge of the blade with the front of the guard plate. Due tothe novel arrangement of the various parts making up my razor, and including the fiat sharpening surface, the manner of mounting the blade'and' its holder and the reciprocation of the blade at a definite angle across the sharpening'surface, ani able to obtain and maintain a relatively small angle between the blade and the sharpening surface, as will be seen in Figs. 1 and 4. This angle between the blade and sharpening surface is preferably about 15 and should not be greater than 23. It will also be seen that the angle between the surface of the blade and the edge 37 of the wing, which is the correct quite certain, but I have found ,in practicethatv much 'better.results areobtained if the sharpening angle is kept below 23and still better results are obtained if the shaving angle `is y likewisey kept below 23. It will be understood thatv the hone 14 is removable or reversible toy permit easy replacement or to present-a new sharpening surface.. In operation, the' razor is normally in -the position shown inv Fig 102 .If it is desired to hone the bladethe finger or thumb is placed on the extension'43 and the blade holder moved tothe-positionshown in Fig. 5. This movement is necessary to `release the lever 34 from the springl 16. With the razorrretracted to this position, the `finger 23' may be' pressed inwardly to release the catch 22 and the outer sleeve 3 moved downwardlyr asbest illustrated in Fig. 9. ThisY action results in `lowering of the guard plate 11v and raising of the sharpening surface 14. With the thumb or fingerftherazorblade can thei'rbe readily snapped to thev position shown in Fig. 1 and a slightpressure on the lever 32 will cause the razor blade to be moved forwardly and backwardly over the sharpening surface 'as will be seen by comparing Figs. 1 and 4. Having given ythe blade four or kfive sharpening strokes, the lever 34 may be moved about its pivot 43 until the spring 41 `catches when the blade may be reversed `as indicated in Fig.`8 and the reverse side sharpened.` f

To assemble the parts in'shaving positionit is necessary f to first revolvethe razor blade and arm 34' about 'the pivot 33v to the relative position` shown in Fig. f5, after which the arm`33 isv moved forwardly' to the position shown in Fig.A

5. The finger 23 'is again pressed' inwardly and the sleeve 3 moved upwardly so that it engages and locksl the' arrn 31 and the guard plate is raised `to its normal position as shown i'nFigs'. 5 and `10. The razor blade holder and arm- 34 may then be moved forwardly so that the razor blade contacts with the surface `l2 of the guard plateand theV -spring 16 'engages' and razor blade inshaving position.- y v The intended meaning of the words float or' floating y'as used in the specificationiand claims is that the "blade 'is' allowed to move in any direction Aor is unrestrained as it moves over the surface of the sharpening device; in other words, the blade automaticallyr accommo-` datesitself tov thejsurfacenofthe sharpeningv de,-` vice.

WhatIclaim is: I, i

v 1.` A self-sharpening razor comprising ahandle, al sharpening device fixedly supportedrby the handle in sharpening position, a guard plate, a pivotally mounted blade, meansfor reciprocating the blade over the surface cfsaid device at afixed angle, and means for moving said guard plate below thesharpening surface vof said device.y a, w f

2. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a sharpening-idevice xedly supported by the handlefin sharpening position, a' guard plate, a blade pivotally mounted on a blade mounting, and means for reciprocating the blade over the surface of said device at a fixed angle, said blade mounting being slidably mounted in said handle and movable bodily transversely of the locks the handle and parallel to the plane of movement ofV the bladel edge.

3; A. self-sharpening razor comprising ahandle, a sharpening device xedly supported by the handle in sharpening position, a guard plate, means for reciprocating the blade over thesurface of said device at a xed angle, a blade mounting slidably mounted in said handle and movable bodily transversely of the handle and parallel to the plane of movement of the blade edge from sharpening position to shaving position, and means directly engaging the blade mounting for resiliently locking said blade in shaving position on the handle.

4. A self-sharpening razorl comprising a handle, a sharpening device xedly supported by the handle in sharpening position, a guard plate, means for reciprocating the blade over the surface of said device at a fixed angle, a blade mounting slidably mounted in said handle and bodily movable during sharpening action and transversely movable to sharpening position or shaving position, and means directly `engaging the blade mountingr for locking said blade in shaving position.

5. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a sharpening device carried by and iixedly positioned on'the handle, a guard plate for receiving the razor blade in shaving position, and means mounted at the back of the handle and movable bodily relative to the handle for supporting saidblade in a position to be reciprocated in a straight plane over the surface of the stationary sharpening device.

6. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a fiat surfaced sharpening device xedly positioned on the handle, a guard plate for receiving the razor blade in shaving position, means mounted at the back of the handle and movable bodily relative to the handle for supportingY said blade in a position to be reciprocated over the surface of the sharpening device, and means for guiding the blade support to maintain the sharpening angle between the reciprocating blade and stationary sharpening device.

7. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a sharpening device stationarily mounted on the handle during the sharpening operation, a guard plate for receiving the razor blade in shaving position said` plate and device being relatively movable, means mounted at the back of the handle and movable bodily relative to the handle for supporting said blade in a position to be reciprocated over the surface of the sharpening device, and means for automatically. moving said' blade supporting means into sharpening position.

8. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a sharpening device stationarily mounted on said handle during the sharpening operation, a blade support slidably carried by and bodily movable transversely of said handle during the sharpening action and including a universal mounting for permitting Vthe blade to be turned over, and resilient means for locking the support in shaving position and automatically moving the support to sharpening position.

9. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a flat surfaced sharpening device stationarily mounted on said handle during the sharpening operation, and a blade support slidablyv mounted on and movable transversely of said handle and including a universal mounting for permitting the blade to be turned over and to oat while being sharpened, said handle guidingl said support during said sliding and transverse movement.

10. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a flat surfaced sharpening device stationarily mounted on said handle during the sharpening operation, a blade support slidably mounted on and movable transversely of said handle and including a universal mounting for permitting the blade to be turned over and to float While being sharpened, a guard plate, means cooperating with said support for locking the same in shaving position, and means cooperating with said universal mounting for holding the blade against said plate.

11. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a flat surfaced sharpening device stationarily mounted on said handle during the sharpening operation, a blade support slidably mounted in said handle to permit bodily movement of said support relative to said handle and including a universal mountingr for permitting the blade to be turned over and to float while being sharpened, and slidable means on said f handle cooperating with said support for locking the same in shaving position.

12. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a blade and support therefor bodily movable relative to the handle, a xedly positioned fiat surfaced sharpening device, and means forguiding said bodily movable support to hold the blade at a fixed angle relative to the surface of said device While being moved back and forth across said surface.

13. A self-sharpening razor comprising a blade, a xedly positioned flat surfaced sharpening device carried by the razor handle, a blade holder slidably carried by the handle and bodily movable relative to the handle during sharpening action, means for holding the blade at a fixed angle relative to the surface of said device While being moved back and forth across said surface, and means for resiliently and automatically moving the razor blade in one direction.

14. A self-sharpening razor comprising a blade, a fiat surfaced sharpening device iixedly positioned in the razor handle during sharpening operation, and a blade support slidably and reciprocably mounted in the razor handle to permit parallel bodily movement of the support relative to the handle and surface of the sharpening device to hold the blade at a fixed angle during the reciprocating sharpening movement.

15. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a nat surfaced xedly positioned sharpening device carried by the razor handle, a blade support bodily movable relative to the handle duringsharpening action and means for guiding the support to-hold the blade at a fixed angle of less than 23 relative to the surface of said sharpening device.

LEON A. FLINKER. 

